The Importance of Well-Placed Furniture

No, this isn't an IKEA catalog.

Tonight marked a landmark of sorts. I finally assembled all the furniture I plan on assembling in my apartment. Some of it comes from IKEA, most of it are castaways from various friends. I framed and hung two woodcuts I bought in Rio as seen in this photo. My apartment is complete (although I plan to buy a turntable and stereo and move my treasure trove of vinyl and CDs from storage).

Somehow, with this step, the transition has hit a new phase. It took 2 1/2 months, but there it is. I put away the red suitcase that I had packed back in Brazil in late-September and stuffed all the crap in various nooks and crannies around my apartment. No suitcases anywhere anymore. No one could tell I had just arrived.

I wish I had done this back in DC. Maybe, that would have helped me feel more settled. But, you know, I never felt settled enough to do that. Or I never let myself feel settled enough. Am I settled now? I don't really have any choice in the matter now. 

Yes, things are drifting into some kind of routine. The morning walk by the lake to the BART. The lunch at the handful of options around my office. The afternoon walk by the lake back to the apartment. The apartment. A routine is hardening now, like concrete. God help me.